Awakened in Shadows Page 11

  What the hell was the fool going on about? Dietrich’s eyes narrowed on Enri. If the Fallen got any ideas about Jorunn, he was going to show him what his skull attached to his spine looked like outside of his body. He would do it slowly, take his time, making sure that each tug scraped every nerve ending on the way out.

  “And there it is,” the Angel boasted. “Don’t forget our deal. Jorunn in exchange for your sister.”

  In exchange?

  They’d never said anything about an exchange.

  “We never talked about an exchange,” he reminded Enri.

  “Didn’t we?” Enri tried to act confused. His brows crinkled and a slight frown appeared around the corners of his mouth.

  “No, motherfucker. We didn’t.”

  “I disagree. I asked you for information in exchange for Yewa.”

  “Keyword, dick. Information,” Dietrich growled back.

  The Angel chuckled.

  “Ah, I always get my words confused. So many different variations. What I meant to say was, in exchange for Jorunn, you’ll get your sister back.”

  “What do you want with Jo?”

  Enri shrugged, then walked around to the front of the desk and yawned.

  The door opened two seconds later. Jorunn walked out looking lost. Her eyes were glossy and her skin was overly flushed. She didn’t say a word as she walked over to Dietrich, her head bowed, eyes downcast.

  “Jo, look at me.”

  Her head snapped up. Her eyes glowing with lust.

  Hell, the twins’ blood.

  “Jo, you okay?”

  He knew she wasn’t, but thought if he at least talked to her, he could possibly take her mind off the need for sex. She didn’t answer. Dietrich looked over to her father, hoping he would provide some answers.

  “I was told the effects are temporary. She’s fine. Here, take the rest of the vials. Give her another dose in twelve to sixteen hours and so on. She has enough to get to France and back if needed.”

  Dietrich reached for the two vials in Phineas’s hand. His arm brushed Jorunn’s shoulder and she let out a low, throaty groan. He really needed to get her back to normal. Horny Jorunn was an overly appealing Jorunn. Her flushed skin brought out the hues of red in her already bronzed coloring. Her breathing was sporadic and heavy, like she’d just spent that last two days in a constant state of arousal. The pulse at her neck was taunting him in a way that had him aching to bite her. Hell, he wasn’t even a Vampiri, but there was something about the delicate pulse at a woman’s neck that drew him in. The vulnerability, her willingness to offer, letting the male know she was allowing him to touch, kiss, and taste a part of her so intrinsically tied to her survival. Cut off the pulse, you restrict blood flow to all the other vital parts of anyone’s body, rendering them immobile. Yeah, she was affecting him. The throaty groan she’d made had lengthened his dick and made it hard enough to power through solid granite. Lock it up, man.

  “She responds beautifully,” Enri interrupted. His words laced with a sensuality Dietrich was very familiar with. That voice was the ice-cold water that took him down. He would have thanked the other male, but really, all he could think of was how the punk ass bitch had ruined his moment. He needed to get Jorunn out of the club and back to… Fuck! It was either back to base or his apartment on the South Side.

  Take her back to base. It’s closer. He couldn’t very well take her to his place. At his place, they’d be stripped and between the sheets in no time. Dietrich took Jo’s hand. She hissed before tightening her grip. He didn’t have to tell her twice, she followed him down the hall and through her father’s club. He kept Jo in front of him by placing a hand at her waist and urging her forward. She was hot to the touch. But other than her body’s obvious arousal and her docile state, she looked fine. They were almost to the door that led outside to the club when Cassandra stepped into their path.

  “Where are you running off to?” she purred. Her eyes took Dietrich in from head to dick. His erection all too obvious. Not for you, sweetheart. “I see someone is at least happy to see me.” Cassandra stepped closer, trying to get as close as she could while ignoring Jorunn. Jo watched their interaction but said nothing.

  “Jo, sweetie, be a pal and give Dietrich and me some time alone. I promise to bring him back in one piece.”

  Fucking Sex Demon.

  Jo’s eyes, still glossy but aware, turned to look at him. She wasn’t even going to argue, not even stake her claim. No one is staking anything. He wasn’t a claimed man. Not by anyone, and definitely not by some broad. Because at the end of the day, that’s exactly how he would—and should—be treating Jorunn. Like she was just another chick. But fuck it. He knew what he was about to do was wrong, but it would have the desired effect. Too bad too, he should have at least given Cassandra the opportunity to ride his cock. It was the biggest wonder in the world, after all.

  His hand pulled Jo’s body into his chest. She squeaked as he made sure to cradle her ass right over his erection. And didn’t that just send his dick into hyper fuck me mode.

  “Not tonight, Cassandra. I have plans.”

  The woman looked at both of them and laughed.

  “Honey, if she’s your idea of plans, you may want to reevaluate the night’s entertainment. Trust me, her last lover couldn’t wait to get out of her bed and into mine.”

  Dietrich felt Jorunn tighten in his arms. At least now he knew she wasn’t completely baked. She was also pissed. He could smell her agitation as it rose up and tickled his nose.

  “Cassandra, you need to get the fuck out of my face.” Dietrich squeezed Jo tighter to him and whispered in her ear, “It’s all good, Peaches. Whatever dick was in your bed wasn’t good enough to stay there.” He raised his voice slightly; making sure Cassandra heard what he relayed next. “Any man that runs from your bed and into hers needs his fucking head checked.”

  Cassandra’s eyes flashed a brilliant red, and a nasty scowl formed across her almost beautiful face.

  “Don’t be angry I wouldn’t let you get all up in me, baby,” Cassandra cooed.

  Dietrich barked out a laugh.

  In her dreams. But he’d indulge her this one time.

  “Not angry at all. Matter of fact, you still down and want me ‘all up in you’ as you so nicely put, I have no problem shoving my dick so far down your throat you choke on it. Now, back up, bitch.”

  Cassandra’s entire body shook with rage. He would have laughed again, but Jo had beat him to it. Her laugh was deep and throaty. The sound came from the pit of her stomach. It rattled his chest and woke something inside of him, he’d thought long dead. It was dangerous.

  ~ ~ ~

  Jo couldn’t have stopped laughing even if she’d had a scarf shoved in her mouth and duct tape keeping her lips closed. The twins’ blood mixed with her father’s was a potent mix of tequila and sex. Not the warm fuzzy sex either, but the break-the-bed-and-put-a-hole-in-the-wall-from-all-the-banging kind of sex. Jo’s entire body was on fire, and her senses were hardwired to everything. Including the hard length of Dietrich’s cock digging into her back. Her clothes did nothing to limit the sensations or her imagination. The heat from his skin alone was enough to make her drop her panties and beg for it. And that was all kinds of crazy. The blood coursing through her veins was acting like mini orgasms building up to the grand finale that would ensure she died more than a sweet death.

  And why did that just make her all warm and wet between the thighs. She was a fool to react to him in this manner. Dietrich wasn’t a forever kind of guy. When did you become a forever kind of girl?

  She hadn’t.

  Had she?

  “We walking, Peaches?” She could hear the laughter in his voice. He was getting off on her reaction to him. Instead of answering him, she nodded. Her body was still feeling the effects of the blood, and she didn’t want to risk further embarrassment by opening her mouth.

  Dietrich walked her out of the club with his front pressed intimately against
her back. His arms secured at her stomach as he navigating their way through the throng of bodies. He’d stood up for her. No one but her father and brother had ever done that. It was a heady feeling. Intoxicating. And only added to the air of potent lust she was experiencing. Her mind was running through so many different variations of how they looked to others as they passed. She could almost fantasize that she was Dietrich’s girl. If only for this one singular moment. She was deliriously happy.

  The moment the night air hit her skin, Jo shivered.

  “You cold, Peaches?”

  No. Her entire body was a live wire and liable to explode from overstimulation. This time when she tried to step away, he let her. Jorunn felt bereft. Her sense of smell sharper now that she’d taken the Feral and Demon’s blood, she could taste the night air as she inhaled a deep breath. Slightly tangy with warmth and spice. But that wasn’t all night air she tasted. No, it was the atmosphere that engulfed her and Dietrich. That was his taste on her tongue. Jorunn licked her lips and moaned. His taste was far stronger than the blood that had been injected into her veins. It washed over her in a sensual wave. She tried to imagine what his lips would taste like, his skin. A ghost of a smile graced her lips as she thought about something else she could touch her tongue to when the passenger door to the car popped open.

  Jo didn’t climb in right away. Instead, she looked at the man who’d volunteered to be her keeper. He’d vowed to her father that he’d see to all her needs. Did that include the current lust coursing through her body, igniting a ravenous need so charged, if he touched her one more time she’d take off like a rocket?

  “You getting in the car or what?”

  His voice roused her out of her trance, and Jo looked at him before looking back to the car. When she turned back, he’d already made his way to his side of the vehicle and was gearing up to start the engine. The light from the interior looked unnaturally bright. She didn’t want to respond to him; terrified she’d ask him for something he had no intention of giving.

  Jo slid into the SUV and tried to relax her nerves as Dietrich sped off into the night. They made it back to the Unit in record time. Dietrich didn’t park in front of the building but pulled into an underground parking garage instead. He shut the engine off and stepped out of the car, walking toward a service entrance. He turned to look over his shoulders to say, “Any day now. Got some calls to make.”

  She shouldn’t have expected chivalry. This was Dietrich, after all. Her senses were still on high alert, and she could tell he was agitated. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the car and followed him inside.

  ~ ~ ~

  “You need to talk to me, Petal, and let me know you’re all right.” Draven ran his hand down his mate’s cheek. He could feel her sorrow. It was a bone-deep kind of pain that he felt all the way to his soul. He’d put their daughter to bed before making love to Jesminda, in an effort to connect with her. She’d been shot in the shoulder. A graze really, but still. And she’d done nothing but try to placate him.

  It had failed.

  Draven felt powerless, confused.

  He sighed deeply. She wouldn’t be any good to the group if her head weren’t in the game. “Petal, I can’t let you go out if I have concerns about your stability.”

  Still, she said nothing.

  For long moments, they lay there in silence. Her tropical scent long gone and replaced with the pungent odor of sadness. Such sadness could choke anyone into depression.

  Pulling her back to his front, Draven tried to nuzzle her neck. Anything to get a response from her. Her body sagged in his arms and shook with silent sobs as her hands went to her stomach. She frantically rubbed the spot as if trying to rip open an already festering wound, to let the poison seep out.

  “Calm down, Petal. I promise, all will mend itself.”

  Jesminda turned in his arms and held him tightly. She wasn’t the only one who was dealing with loss. They both were. He was trying to cope the best way he knew how and still be strong for his family.

  “I love you, Petal.”

  “Stop saying that as if it will make everything all right. I fucking hurt from the inside out. Every minute. Every hour. Of every day. I want to kill them both again, hoping in spite of everything, I’ll get some sort of reprieve, or better yet, a fucking do over. Only, it never comes. Our daughter is suffering, and to cope, she’s now added an imaginary friend we all have to pretend is really there. I’m not making things better, and God, Draven… I don’t have the means to give you another child.” She sobbed into his neck.

  He held her. That was all he could do. He prayed he could will what little strength he had left into her.

  “We can try again, Jes.”

  “No. No, we can’t! I don’t have a uterus or ovaries! He made sure of it. Somehow Cyrian, or the Elders made sure that I could never give birth, like ever. Last week I went to the doctor, figuring I’d at least get an all clear, only to have the doctor look at me like I was some deranged female for even being there and tell me I have no reproductive system. What kind of sick shit is that? Huh? Did I really commit some huge crime by having our daughter? By wanting to be the mother of your children? Would it have made a difference if I had known, growing up, what kind of potential I had? No one told me! No one told me one fucking word about what could possibly happen! Not my grandmother, not Cyrian!”

  Her head thrashed back and forth as she pounded brutally against his chest. She was letting it all out. Releasing everything she’d held in since the incident back in Asa.

  Rage boiled and spilled out in a roar. Draven pulled Jes to him, knowing he was crushing her, but she gave just as well as he did as she grabbed tighter to his shoulders. The scab on his soul that was slow to heal was ripped wide open again. Exposing the still fresh wound at the loss of his child. This was the Elite Council’s fault. Not his, not hers. The weight of their actions rested solely on the damn Council. His father had once told him that vengeance was like an open wound. Sometimes it could be hard to close, other times it was quick to heal. But for something like this, the only thing that would ease their pain was the slow death of each Council member. Anyone and everyone who’d had a hand in the act would fall to their knees and beg forgiveness. Retribution would be their only salvation.

  “Every single one of them will pay, Petal. Vengeance will be ours, and there will be no mercy, no forgiveness.”

  Chapter 11

  Jorunn stretched and slowly opened her eyes. She could hear as well as feel the breeze from the overhead fan. The room was chilly, but the blanket she was under kept her warm. There were still lingering effects from the blood she’d had last night, but there was only a low hum of sexual energy. A low groan to her left alerted her. Last night’s events flooded her memory as she realized she was in Dietrich’s bed, and he was lying next to her. He’d taken her to his room, sat her stuff on the floor, and literally put her to bed. He’d stripped her down to her tank and boy shorts and ordered her to get under the covers. Right after, he’d crawled in next to her, mumbling about being too tired and saying he’d take care of his shit tomorrow. He didn’t even balk at being in bed with her.

  To say it had taken her forever to fall asleep was a huge understatement. Dietrich, on the other hand, had fallen right asleep. She’d been too scared to see what his bedtime attire consisted of. She knew he was wearing at least bottoms. Their legs had gotten tangled up during the night, and she’d very carefully untangled herself. Dietrich Johnson didn’t snore or really do anything while he slept. It was like sleeping next to a stone slab. If not for his deep breathing, she would have thought him dead. The fact that she’d slept next to him was strange. She’d been so wired she thought for sure she’d not get any sleep.

  Now, she was wide-awake with no sense of time as there were no windows in his room. There was a small sitting area and what looked to be a kitchenette. Maybe she should make them something to eat. Quietly, Jo rolled to the edge of the bed. She sat up and placed her feet on t
he cold tile floor. The chill going straight up her legs and back gave her goose bumps.

  “Where are you going?” Came the gravelly voice of Dietrich.

  “Bathroom, and then I was going to shower,” she revealed in her double-layered voice. Shit. She hadn’t meant to do that. She sounded like one of those women hungry for sex. Jo felt the bed move and then intense heat at her back.

  “That an invitation, Peaches? I’m down for a shower and some sex.”

  She sat up straighter at his words. She could feel his hot breath at the base of her neck as he hummed his approval of the offer he’d just laid on the table. She wasn’t offering him a shower or sex. That had drama written all over it. Sex with him wouldn’t be sex at all, but something else. An intense primal ritual of bodies and movement. He’d own every inch of her until there was nothing left that was hers, leaving her a shell of a woman.

  That wasn’t something she was prepared to engage in at this particular moment. No matter how badly she wanted him.

  “That would be a hell no,” she squeaked.

  Tighten up that resolve.

  “No,” Jo snapped more firmly.

  “Good call. Go and shower, church mouse. Breakfast is on the fourth floor.”

  Fuck. She’d been warned about the fourth floor. She didn’t want to start problems in the Unit’s domain. But what choice did she have? If Jesminda were there, she would simply turn around and go out to get something to eat. That would alleviate any friction.

  “How do I get there?” Her voice was no longer layered, but her body softened at his closeness. He still hadn’t moved. In fact, it felt as if he were closer. Her suspicion was confirmed when both of his hands went to her bare shoulders and he turned her toward a door.

  “Through that door, down the hall to your left. Hit the elevator and take it down to the fourth floor. You’ll hear everyone talking and carrying on. If that’s too intimate for you, there’s a cafeteria on level B. Serves pretty good shit.”